Making Magic with Ben Bourgeois of Ben Bourgeois Productions

[highlight_text] To Ben, the secret to the “oohs” and the “aahs” is to keep having reveals throughout the entire event. [/highlight_text]

Ben Bourgeois of Ben Bourgeois Productions knows what it takes to wow a crowd and isn’t afraid to pull out all of the stops.

You know that feeling you get at a concert when the lights dim, the curtain recedes, and the music starts — that feeling of awe, surprise and anticipation at the beginning of a great adventure?

Well, Ben Bourgeois of Ben Bourgeois Productions specializes in making that feeling.

“We’re event producers, so we create fantasy all over the world,” Ben said. “We transport our clients and their clients and their guests for three to six hours to other places.”

Ben’s company is known for producing highly challenging events that are difficult to execute, such as moving large amounts of people from one place to another or building huge sound stages. He’s known for creating events that are much more involved than bringing just a few people together at a country club.

“We are building up a hill in Aspen or creating a space in the Louvre,” Ben said.

From private birthday parties to highly-anticipated product launches, Ben and his company do it all — and do it big.

Ben wasn’t always producing large-scale events for Los Angeles’ elite, however. He got his start working for his parent’s flower shop in Atlanta, Ga. At the store, he would design unique arrangements for holidays, weddings, and debutante balls, a long-standing Southern tradition. After working for his parents for a few years, though, Ben realized that he wanted to do more than just design flower arrangements for events. He wanted to produce the events themselves.

So, he moved to L.A. to begin his business, which currently employs 13 full time employees, and spends his time throughout the day communicating with clients, designing and developing events, and ultimately producing them. Just by looking at his busy schedule and ever-growing client list, it is clear that his wide success isn’t just luck. Ben has a formula for event planning that works.

“You have to be able to make them [the client and their guests] say ‘wow’ within the first ten seconds of when they first walk in,” Ben says.

To Ben, the secret to the “oohs” and the “aahs” is to keep having reveals throughout the entire event.

“Something new, something new, something new,” Ben repeated.

He plants constant surprises throughout each production. Whether it’s a goodie bag, a guest appearance, or an amazing spectacle, it keeps the excitement fresh in his client’s minds and serves as proof of the event’s success.

“You go through this long process of coming up, creating and planning for an event, and then you’re standing in the doorway and watching people’s expressions as they come in, and you can sense their excitement,” Ben says. “That’s the pay off.”

According to Ben, he’s completely content with the life — or fantasy — he has created for himself. He never wants his company to grow too large where the process of event production becomes more important than the event itself. His focus is always on his clients, ensuring that each experience is unique to each person and carried out at the highest quality.

“I wake up and tell people every day, ‘Lets make the magic’,” Ben says. “I’m happy doing what I’m doing every day because its a different time, different place, and different environment always.”